Man accused of stealing and snorting ashes gets 8 years

Published: Friday, December 7, 2012 at 8:19 p.m.

Last Modified: Friday, December 7, 2012 at 8:19 p.m.

One of the three men accused of stealing human and canine ashes from a house in Silver Springs Shores in late 2010 and snorting them was sentenced Friday to more than eight years in prison.

Authorities believe Jose David Diaz-Marrero, 20, was involved in a string of burglaries in the Shores between December 2010 and January 2011.

He and Waldo Soroa, 21, and Matrix Andaluz, 19, allegedly burglarized a home in the area on Dec. 15, 2010, and took urns that contained the cremated remains of Holli Tencza’s father and her two beloved Great Danes, Samson and Epic. They also reportedly stole about $1,500 worth of jewelry, a laptop, a DVD player and a 42-inch flat-screen television.

Detectives investigating the case said the men told them they thought the urns contained crushed pills and decided to taste and snort the contents. After the men saw a story published in the Star-Banner, they realized what they had allegedly snorted were the remains of a woman’s father and her two dogs.

Diaz-Marrero pleaded guilty in June to four burglaries.

In court Friday, wearing a white collared shirt and a silver tie, he said was remorseful for his actions as he spoke before Circuit Judge Sandra Edwards-Stephens.

“I recognize that I’ve made a big mistake,” he said.

He said he woke up every day thinking about what he did.

“I wish the victims were here so that I could tell them how sorry I am,” he said.

Diaz-Marrero’s mother, sister and uncle testified on his behalf, saying he was a good student in school. They said he became active in his church after his family was able to pay a bond for his release from the Marion County Jail, where he spent about seven months.

His mother, Maria Marrero, said he had never gotten in trouble or broken the law until he started associating with the wrong crowd of boys. When he was released from jail, she said, he was able to get jobs at Sonic and Panera Bread despite his pending charges.

“I’ve seen a David that has accepted his fault,” she said. “He does deserve a second chance.”

Upon his release from prison, Diaz-Marrero will be placed on six years probation, during which he will have to pay more than $20,000 in restitution to the victims in the cases, including $9,000 to Tencza.

Tencza’s two purebred Great Danes were shot and killed by a neighbor in August 2010 after he reportedly felt threatened by them while working in his garage, according to reports.

The State Attorney’s Office did not press any criminal charges, but the shootings caused an uproar in the community.

The remains of Tencza’s father and those of one of the dogs were found in a lake shortly after her home was burglarized, and were returned to her. Detectives went to another home in the Silver Springs Shores area to look for the second dog’s remains. There they met with the homeowner who told them that she had unwittingly thrown out the ashes thinking it was a plastic bag of concrete mix.

In previous interviews, Diaz-Marrero and Soroa said they committed the burglaries because they needed money, but both also said they wanted to return the items.

Andaluz pleaded guilty in June to the burglaries and was sentenced to nine years in prison and 12 years of probation.

Soroa’s cases are still pending.

Contact Vishal Persaud at 867-4065, vishal.persaud@starbanner.com or on Twitter @vishalpersaud.

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